Vocations

Do you hear the the Holy Spirit calling you to serve God and His people through ministry in His Church? Do you yearn to offer your life in a vocation of ministry as a loving response to the Lord your God? Perhaps you yearn to celebrate the Sacred Mystery of the Eucharist. If so, please read on!

The Order of the Shepherd’s Heart believes in the “priesthood of all believers” but ministry is not limited to an ordained ministry, to the priesthood or diaconate. It finds its expression and fulfillment in a variety of different ways from study to teaching, prayer to healing, community outreach to care giving, and those are just a few of the myriad of opportunities to minister in this broken world.

If you believe you have been called, please feel free to contact the Abbot to discuss your calling and your options. We welcome your discernment and would love to celebrate your ministry with you! Please take a look at our requirements for ordination and again, we welcome your discernment and offer ourselves as a home to the called and the qualified!

If you have already been ordained by a validly consecrated Bishop within the Apostolic Succession and wish to incardinate, we would encourage you to contact the Abbot to discuss your ministry and your options. Perhaps you have been wounded, or perhaps you are simply lost and wandering. We would like to offer you a safe place to fulfill your ministry, to answer your calling to serve His people. Remember, ordination to Holy Orders is an indelible mark on your soul. Once ordained, always ordained. Let us help you rediscover your ministry and again answer your calling from our Lord.

We welcome people who are serious about ministry and seek only to serve Jesus Christ through service to others. Sincere lay ministers, priests, and deacons are needed throughout the world and we’d love to help you answer your calling.

Discernment, training, and ordination takes time but we are a faithful church serving a wonderful Lord and we think we’re worth the time it takes to develop a relationship with and hope you are as well. We are not playing church nor do we wish to be yoked up with those who are. Heeding the admonishment of the apostle Paul we do not lay hands on people quickly nor indiscriminately. But when we do, rest assured you become part of our family and we treat you as such.

“Above all trust in the slow work of God. We are, quite naturally, impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to the unknown, something new. . . . And so I think it is with you. Your ideas mature gradually — let them grow, let them shape themselves without undue haste. Don’t try to force them on as though you could be today what time (That is to say, what grace and circumstances acting on your own good will) will make you tomorrow. Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be. Give our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you, and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete. Trust in the slow work of God.” -Teilhard de Chardin

If you wish to make application to join the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart you may do so by downloading the application and following the enclosed instructions. Thank you again for your interest in the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart!

Requirements for Ordination or Incardination

How to get started?

Send us an email to the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart explaining your situation and asking whatever questions you might have. Many questions can be answered by first visiting our “Beliefs” page. Also be sure to familiarize yourself with Our Common Rule of Life. Generally, we will then want you to send us the following, either by email or snail mail as appropriate:

So that we can make sure you are who you say you are, send us a photograph (3×5 or larger), a photocopy of your drivers’ license or other official photo ID, and your social security number. Use snail mail for these. We will protect your private information and maintain it in the central files of the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart. It will not be released to others.

A paper describing your faith journey. What is your religious background? Your spiritual history? What has brought you to where you are today? If you have had problems with other churches, what were they? Why did you leave them?

All persons formally affiliating themselves with the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart in any way shall through written statement set forth personal expectations and goals discerning their individual calling. Why are you considering membership/ordination in the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart? What will you do with your membership/ordination? What ministries are you interested in? How do you plan to pursue these ministries? How do you plan to financially support yourself and your ministries?

A paper addressing your personal history. What is your financial situation? Have you had any bankruptcies? What is your sexual orientation? Are you married? Are you living with someone? Have you been divorced? Have you had marriages annulled? Are you “in the closet” about anything? Are there any possible impediments to membership/ordination? Are you hiding anything from family, friends, coworkers? What is the condition of your physical and mental health? While we do not discriminate we do like to know who we are dealing with.

A criminal background check is required at the expense of the applicant. Usually this can be accomplished through the State Highway Patrol in the applicants home state.

A psychological evaluation is required at the expense of the applicant. Staff from Christ Catholic Church may be able to administer the evaluation.

Insofar as there are necessary and usual administrative costs to facilitate the application process a $50 application fee is required to accompany the application for processing.

You will be assigned a Formation Director to guide you through the rest of the process. Or you may be shepherded through by the Abbot.

If you wish to make application to join the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart you may do so by downloading the application and following the enclosed instructions. Thank you again for your interest in the Order of the Shepherd’s Heart!

May God guide you and bless you on your “anam turas”, or soul journey, to serve Him and His people!